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Sunshine Decision Delayed; Mayor Urges Council to Approve Extension

Posted on: Tuesday, 9 August 2005, 21:00 CDT

Aug. 9--With rejection of its contract extension appearing likely, the operator of the Sunshine Canyon Landfill gave in Monday to Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's request for six more months to study alternatives for disposing of the city's trash.

This marks the third time Browning Ferris Industries has pushed back its deadline to renew its contract for five more years. The contract expires next June 30 and the company had warned that the dumping rate might soar unless the city acted now.

Despite his campaign promise to oppose the contract extension, Villaraigosa urged the City Council to approve the extension, saying the city could not afford to pay tens of millions of dollars for trash disposal and needed the time to find alternatives to urban landfills.

Approval of the contract extension fell a vote short Friday and support was unlikely to grow with Councilwoman Wendy Greuel, who is returning from vacation today, declaring that she opposes going forward on Sunshine Canyon without more information.

"I urge the City Council to use this six-month period to consider reliable and financially responsible options while we continue to work to find viable alternatives to get the city of Los Angeles out of urban landfills," Villaraigosa said in a prepared statement late Monday.

"Together, we can prevent putting our residents in a situation where we either have no place to take our trash in eleven months, or could be held hostage by waste management companies that could charge us a gate rate that is nearly double the rate we currently pay at Sunshine Canyon."

Greg Loughnane, district manager for Browning Ferris Industries, said the company bowed to a request from Villaraigosa to give the council more time to decide how to accommodate the 3,600 tons of trash generated daily by Los Angeles residents.

"We're willing to accommodate the mayor," he said.

In a surprise vote Friday, the council rejected extension of BFI's $24 million-a-year contract for Sunshine Canyon. The unexpected vote spurred contract proponents to warn of dire financial consequences and sanitation officials to start searching for alternative means of disposal.

Meanwhile, neighbors of the Granada Hills dump who had fought it for years delayed their celebration, aware the vote lacked finality.

"My community is anxious beyond belief," said Kim Thompson, who is on the board of the Granada Hills North Neighborhood Council.

The contract extension was stymied last week because city rules require eight votes -- a majority of the full 15-member panel -- to approve or deny such agreements. It failed to pass by a 7-4 vote. Two seats are empty and Greuel and Councilman Eric Garcetti were absent.

West Valley Councilman Dennis Zine, a supporter, will be absent from today's meeting and the four 'no' votes insisted they won't change sides. That means that in order to pass, the extension needed to win support from both Greuel and Garcetti.

Greuel, who represents the Valley, will vote 'no," said her spokeswoman, Leslie Pollner. Garcetti was traveling Monday and could not be reached.

By agreeing to delay its deadline until Feb. 28, BFI gives the city time to examine alternatives. Supporters remained confident the contract eventually will be extended.

"It cannot stay in limbo and eventually, in my judgment, there will be eight votes to approve it," said Councilman Bernard Parks.

Without clear information about alternatives to Sunshine Canyon, officials estimate that the city could face $17 million or more per year in additional costs once the contract ends. Furthermore, the dump will not close if Los Angeles pulls out, a fact cited by contract proponents such as Parks although it was unclear how BFI could fully make up for the loss of the city's business.

"It would be unfortunate in my judgment if the city went forward and cost the taxpayers millions more dollars to handle their trash so we're not in Sunshine but Sunshine remains open and other jurisdictions use it," he said. "That, to me, would be the epitome of poor government and the epitome of poor policy."

Such arguments, though, have not swayed Councilman Greig Smith, who has been the council's most vocal opponent of Sunshine Canyon. He insists the city could find a good deal for trash disposal on the short-term spot market, and that immediate action is necessary to break Los Angeles' dependence on urban landfills.

Smith was confident BFI cannot get the needed eight votes at this time, said his chief of staff, Mitchell Englander.

"We stand solid with four votes and growing," he said. "We're confident and optimistic that we can finally end our dependency on Sunshine Canyon."

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Source: Daily News - Los Angeles, California

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